


I Don't Know What I Would Do Without You

by garciasfluffypen



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:07:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25982572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/garciasfluffypen/pseuds/garciasfluffypen
Summary: Emily had become a godsend, JJ had realized, and it was times like this that she realized she didn’t know what she would be doing if it wasn’t for her.
Relationships: Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/Emily Prentiss
Comments: 2
Kudos: 137





	I Don't Know What I Would Do Without You

JJ wasn’t sure what she would be doing with her life if it wasn’t for Emily. 

Having Will split his time between D.C and New Orleans was proving to be more troublesome than they had originally thought. Of course, Will wanted to be a part of Henry’s life, but it was hard for him to get up to see him on the weekends or when JJ was going to be gone for more than a day or two. If she were being honest, she was  _ this close _ to just telling him to stop making the trip back and forth since they had amicably split a few months prior, and to just focus on his work down where they needed him. And besides, she had her lifelines here in D.C anyway. Her whole team, even Hotch, had stepped up and helped her as much as they could. 

Garcia had made it her life’s mission to spoil him, bringing him some sort of new toy, outfit or a pacifier at any chance she could. Hotch and Jack had started bringing over homemade cookies, usually made with silly designs that Jack had made Hotch put on them (even though, he protested, he was more than capable of decorating a cookie perfectly). Derek helped put together all the baby furniture for her, and even came over to keep her company on nights when she felt just absolutely swamped. Spencer had made sure to get all the best books he could find for Henry, and had even started reading some to him whenever the young toddler would waddle over to him and hold up whichever book he could grab. Rossi, in his own fatherly way, was always there with a bottle of wine when she most needed it — even if she didn’t know she needed it. Then, there was Emily. 

Emily had done the most out of the whole team, to the point where she kept an extra go bag at her place for nights that Emily was here so late that she fell asleep in her guest room. She had taken to coming over whenever JJ needed her to, cooking some sort of meal for her while she was keeping Henry entertained. There were a handful of times where JJ had insisted on cooking to give Emily a reprieve, and she would stand at the stove watching the brunette play with Henry, her face lighting up with joy as she made little explosion noises while the action figures clashed midair. Emily had become a godsend, JJ had realized, and it was times like this that she realized she didn’t know what she would be doing if it wasn’t for her. 

Her phone buzzed with a text and she reached for her phone, trying to balance a teething Henry on the other hip. 

**[Emily <3]** Hey, I’m going to the store to get the groceries before I come over, do you need anything?

JJ paused for a second, biting her lip as she thought, trying to ignore the constant tugging of her hair. Typing out a quick “ _ don’t think so, thanks though. _ ” she placed her phone back where it was charging and walked back into the living room with Henry, setting him down on his little play pad that she had found on Amazon. 

“Okay Henry, it’s time to say our words!” JJ smiled, holding her hands out to take his smaller ones in her own. “Are you ready to say your words?” 

She was met with a toothless smile and Henry reaching for her hair for the third time in the past hour. 

“Ready? Say  _ ma-ma. _ ” 

No response. 

“ _ Ma-ma. _ Come on Henry,  _ ma-ma. _ ” 

Henry simply plopped down on his play mat and grabbed at the stuffed lion that Garcia had gotten him, squeezing it tightly and looking up at JJ with that same smile on his face. JJ couldn’t help but chuckle as she moved to lay on her stomach next to him, grabbing the snake plushy and playing along with him. 

It couldn’t have been more than an hour later when she heard a key jangling in the door, knowing exactly who it was. 

“Henry, guess who’s here! Emmy’s here!” 

She sat up and started to get up before she heard Emily’s “ah-ah-ah!” as she walked through the living room. Two bags of groceries in her hands, she shuffled past the mother-son duo and set them down on the table, kicking off her shoes and making her way back over to JJ and Henry. 

“Hey Jayje. Hi Henry!” Henry waddled over to Emily, placing himself right on his lap. “How’s my favorite little guy doing?” 

“He’s doing pretty good today, ate all his vegetables according to Lucy, and went down great during nap time.” she smiled, looking down at her son. “Lucy also said he made a lot of babbling noises, but no words yet. We’ve been trying to get him to say mama.” 

“He hasn’t said mama yet?” 

“Nope. Most of the time he’ll just make incoherent noises and reach for me.” 

Emily chuckled. “Oh Henry.”

“Oh Henry is right. How’s Sergio doing?”

“Serg’s doing great. Very cuddly today. He almost didn’t let me go.” 

There was a moment of silence. “You didn’t have to come, Em, although, I don't know what I would do without you.”

“Of course I did!" Emily smiled. "It’s not every day you get to hear your favorite little guy say your name for the first time. Today’s the day, I can sense it. Right, Henry?” 

JJ ruffled Henry’s hair before getting up to go to the kitchen, knowing that Emily would keep him busy while she cooked them dinner. She pulled the groceries out of the bag and set the ones she needed on her counter, putting the rest of them away. 

“Em, I was thinking spaghetti and meatballs. How does that sound?” 

“Sounds perfect!” 

Ten minutes later the pasta was in the pot, and JJ was watching Henry and Emily play, the two of them crawling around on the floor chasing toy cars that Henry had taken a liking to. She could get used to this, having Emily around for real. She had been oh so nervous to say anything about her feelings and she had decided tonight was going to be the night. She had gotten the best bottle of wine she could find at the local supermarket (it may or may not be the one that Henry touched first, but she didn’t have to tell Emily that) and was planning on making the fanciest dinner she knew how to make. In her mind, even if they couldn’t act on their feelings, it would be better for her to let it out instead of keeping it bottled up. 

Soon as dinner was ready, Emily scooped Henry up and brought him to the table, placing him in his high chair. JJ poured the two of them a glass of wine, setting one down in front of Emily’s plate and the other in front of her own. Dinner went just how JJ wanted it to go. The two of them joked back and forth, and Henry made babbling noises and ate all of his dinner without making a mess. Which was great for JJ, considering she wore her nicest sweatshirt that day. They had about an hour before they had to put Henry down for bed, so JJ placed him inside the playpen that Morgan had bought the week before. The two women curled up on the couch and turned on some rom-com for background noise, and JJ decided it was time.

“Em, can I… can I ask you about something?”

“Of course, Jayje. You know you can talk to me about anything.” 

She took a big gulp before starting. “What would you do if you had feelings for a coworker?”

“What do you mean?” Emily’s head tilted to the side. “Define feelings.”

“Like… you want to kiss them every time you see them, like you want them to help you raise your children even though it might be frowned upon in the eyes of your boss’ boss.” 

There was a small pause and JJ started to think that maybe she wasn’t drunk enough to ask Emily how she felt. Grabbing the bottle of wine from the table, she poured herself another glass, raising the cup to her lips as Emily thought. 

“Well,” Emily started. “I would probably want to ask them if they were thinking about the same person that I was thinking about, because if I were in that situation, I would one hundred percent say yes.”

“You don’t even know what I was going to ask you!” JJ laughed. “I mean, what? Pfft. I’m not…” she took another sip, trying to hide the blush on her cheeks.

“Aha! So I was right! Jayje, come ‘ere.” 

JJ crawled across the couch into Emily’s open arms, curling herself up against the older agent’s side. She closed her eyes as Emily started running her fingers through her hair, placing a small kiss on the top of her head. 

“I like you too, Jayje. A lot.” JJ blinked a few times, trying to digest what she said. “I would love to stay and help you raise Henry. And screw what Strauss says. We’re trained to mask our emotions. I’m pretty sure we can make this work.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. And besides, you do have a private office.” Emily jokingly wiggled her eyebrows, causing JJ to laugh. 

“You’re a doofus.” 

“I’m  _ your _ doofus.” Emily smiled. “Hey JJ?”

“Mhm?”

“Can I kiss you?” 

JJ smiled and placed her wine glass down, bringing Emily’s face closer to hers. From the moment their lips touched JJ knew she made the right choice, feeling the tingly feeling she felt every time Emily talked rush through her body. She wrapped her arms around Emily’s neck, bringing her as close as she possibly could. She broke off the kiss before it could get too heated, considering Henry was still in the room. She sheepishly smiled at Emily before placing another peck on her lips, then proceeding to tuck a stray strand of hair back behind her ear. 

“You really want to help me raise Henry?”

“Of course I do. I love him. And as crazy as this sounds, I love you too. I love you so much, Jennifer. More than you’ll ever know.” 

“Well, it’s a good thing that I love you too.” 

It was that moment that Henry decided to start getting fussy, causing JJ to let out a dramatic sigh and go over to her son, picking him up and deciding then and there it was bedtime. She could wait another forty five minutes and put him down at eight instead of seven fifteen, but since he was fussy she decided it was probably better to put him down now rather than later. She, Henry and Emily made their way upstairs, going straight to Henry’s room. Emily stood off to the side as JJ changed his diaper and got his pajamas on, smiling as she moved around the room so effortlessly. Finally, JJ set him down in his crib and started towards the white noise machine she kept in his room, switching it into the on position. 

“Emmy!” 

Both women’s eyes widened as they looked down to Henry, who was sitting in his crib calmly while still holding his stuffed lion. 

“You heard that too, right?” Emily looked at JJ, who was as astonished as she was.

“He just said his first word. And it wasn’t Mama. It was Emmy.” 

“Emmy!” Henry’s smile widened. “Emmy!” 

“Henry, as much as I love to hear you say my name, can you say  _ mama _ ?”

There was a pause as Henry thought for a second. “Emmy!” 

“Oh dear.” JJ ran a hand through her hair. “Will’s gonna have a heart attack when he realizes your name is the first word he said.”

“Who said we have to tell him? We can still try and get Henry to say mama before we tell Will.” 

JJ chuckled. “As much as I want to take you up on that offer, I promised Will I would tell him Henry’s first word.”

“Henry, can you say  _ mama _ ? Please?” 

“Emmy!” 

_ Well, _ JJ thought.  _ We can work on that another day. _


End file.
